35 years later, 'Major League' still shines as a genuine baseball classic

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes and James Gammon bring the hits.

There’s something timeless about a sports comeback tale. Told on the big screen, it unwraps like a caramel kiss even decades after its release. A group of misfit toys, a retired coach with something to prove, and an owner wanting to get rid of them for the sake of moving to warmer temperatures. All the kindling a script needs to churn out a movie that holds its luster 35 years later.

That’s Major League, the 1989 baseball flick about a group of ragtag young and old players on a roster built to fail. Led by James Gammon’s ironclad old school leader Lou Brown and Tom Berenger’s almost-over-the-hill catcher, the Cleveland Indians become the comeback story of the year--not bad for a team filming their home games in Milwaukee.

Streaming on Max at the moment, I took the opportunity to revisit the David S. Ward-directed movie that carries a very modest 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. When you’re battling a one-day stomach bug and find yourself immobilized due to a batch of overheated farm eggs, it’s a good time to play the hits. Skim the movie section on a streamer, and see what bites.

Who can turn down some Wesley Snipes flying down a spring training field in pajamas the morning after being kicked out of camp? Here’s a few other highlights of my rewatch.

Dennis Haysbert’s Pedro Cerano gives me Guerrero vibes

Every time I see him strutting into camp, I think of the former St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman, Pedro Guerrero, who drove in 117 runs in 1989, the same year this movie was released. There’s the similar batting stances, facial hair, and the fact that Guerrero having a Jobu doll in the clubhouse wouldn’t be too far-fetched.

Cerano’s arc culminates with a key two-run home run that reminded me of Guerrero getting a big hit in his last year with the Cards and in the league. Movies have a way of taking something we love in real life and illuminating it. I’m not 100% sure if the real Pete could handle curveballs or not, but the similarities stick enough. Nostalgia is a delicacy best served with a cold beer and isolated to a certain amount. But let’s carry on.

Old Jake Taylor is Yadi Without the Ego

Missouri native Berenger was in the hot zone when this movie came out, just like his co-stars, Sheen and Snipes. He fit the aging catcher with bad knees to a tee, from picking up the phone in a motel and wishing it was the New York Yankees to beating the Yankees with a bunt single in the ninth.

He’s the leader in the locker room, bridging gaps between old, pompous types like Corbin Bernson’s Roger Dorn (based on Todd Zeile, unofficially) and finding last minute buckets of chicken for Pedro, thus saving the life of a real chicken. He knew how to take off a skirt with his cleats, and made the beautiful Rene Russo make goo-goo eyes at him.

Taylor could help a young pitcher secure a complete game win by talking to the hitter about his wife’s underwear, and also be the guy who reminds Rick Vaughn how to dress in a fancy restaurant. Did he read Moby Dick over-to-over? Debatable, but I love him. He’s Yadi without an Instagram account.

The Essence of Gammon

You can’t not love a guy who receives a phone call about managing a big league club, and answers with a need to finish a call with a guy about some white walls. Gammon was a genuine character actor, humans who looked like they were that guy years before the script ever came together.

He’s the manager the Cardinals need yet don’t deserve right now. A man who would stand naked in front of the owner in a plea for hot water in showers and a whirlpool that worked. He liked heaters, caps and sleeves, and an outfielder who didn’t make basket catches. Whitey Herzog could have had a few beers with Lou Brown.

Bob Uecker’s Harry Doyle

If Herzog could share a bar with Brown, the late Mike Shannon could share a radio booth with Uecker’s cinematic creation. In real life, Uecker is the play-by-play guy for the Brewers, so I’m sure he and Mike were pals.

A combination of Shannon and Jack Buck, Doyle kept a bottle of Jack Daniels close to the microphone while announcing for a team that couldn’t put butts in the seats, at least initially. As someone who grew up with the radio broadcast for the local Cardinals playing, imagining Buck pulling a bottle of whiskey out for the seventh inning stretch while creating fan shouting in the background always makes me laugh.

Uecker was a natural, and someone I never had the guts to walk up to when I saw him in the press box back during the manual scoreboard days. I just wanted to walk up and say, “you can close the book on Kellner. Thank god!”

Sheen’s Wild Thing made me a big fan of closers

The actor was winning back in the 80s, coming in hot off Wall Street to play a pitcher/felon who gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Sheen’s Vaughn was a starter for most of the movie, but he comes in relief during the climactic baseball game near the end of the film. After Ed Harris (big love for Chelcie Ross) pitches into the ninth, Vaughn comes out of the bullpen to the sounds of “Wild Thing,” his nickname that catches on quick.

That’s where my adoration of closers began. A guy coming out of the pen late in the game to close down a game with triple-digit heat. It was such a movie kind of idea, until closers from the past 10-15 years turned into a normal thing. It’s hard to dislike a pitcher who just lets it eat. Vaughn’s cheddar sandwich to Haywood, who was played by real-life MLB pitcher (and former Cardinal) Pete Vuckovich, will always be a sports film highlight for me.

That whole game at the end of the movie reminds me of Cardinals comebacks. The ones where the stadium came alive and elevated a sports game. Major League captured that all while delivering memorable comedic one liners that shine today in a conversation. That’s when they made true comedies, not frat boy humor-infested dick jokes that get tired after 18 movies.

Sports films are a bread and butter zone, but fewer movies than most think can still hold their place in hearts, minds and funny bones three and a half decades later. The direct sequel is decent, but it fell off after that. It’s the reason I am thrilled that Bull Durham never received a follow-up. A one-and-done can be just fine.

Once again, Major League streams on Max.